The Empire and Happenstance
Thank you for keeping track of me. Here is some travel content from last week:
Londoners on the Tube
It's been a providentially good trip so far. The weather was mild in London, and Sarah and I zipped around everywhere on the tube. Seeing the Arts and Crafts displays at the Victoria and Albert Museum was a highlight, as was their great Great Exhibition exhibition [sic]. I was surprised at how British I felt, and then I realized that it was Granny's fault, what with her serving us tea and reading us Our Empire's Story. There was this moment in Liberty on Regent Street, with my fingers on some Vivienne Westwood tweed, when I realized that I'm starting this trip at the top of the empire.
The flight to Riga on Friday was the beginning of the paradigm shift. After an hour in the shopping mall hell of Heathrow, I stepped onto a sombre Baltic Air flight where everyone spoke Russian. I sat beside a very drunk Latvian man for 3.5 hours, and then arrived in Riga. That was a whirlwind stop for two days: lost and found luggage, new international friends, a theatre production in the countryside, Radio Naba and a colourful children's ballet. All of this was delightful happenstance, although props are owed to Lucas in Halifax.
After a dark Soviet bus ride on Sunday, I arrived in snowy Klaipeda, Lithuania. It's 4:20 p.m. here and the sun is already setting. To celebrate, Jared and I are in his office at Lithuania Christian College eating exceptionally good cheese. The weather here is very Canadian. So although I will be in steamy Dhaka in a month, I am stomping through slush in solidarity with those of you in large Canadian cities. I tip my fleecy hat to you all.
On the London Eye at Dusk
The Atrium at the British Museum
Sarah in Trafalgar Square
Londoners on the Tube
It's been a providentially good trip so far. The weather was mild in London, and Sarah and I zipped around everywhere on the tube. Seeing the Arts and Crafts displays at the Victoria and Albert Museum was a highlight, as was their great Great Exhibition exhibition [sic]. I was surprised at how British I felt, and then I realized that it was Granny's fault, what with her serving us tea and reading us Our Empire's Story. There was this moment in Liberty on Regent Street, with my fingers on some Vivienne Westwood tweed, when I realized that I'm starting this trip at the top of the empire.
The flight to Riga on Friday was the beginning of the paradigm shift. After an hour in the shopping mall hell of Heathrow, I stepped onto a sombre Baltic Air flight where everyone spoke Russian. I sat beside a very drunk Latvian man for 3.5 hours, and then arrived in Riga. That was a whirlwind stop for two days: lost and found luggage, new international friends, a theatre production in the countryside, Radio Naba and a colourful children's ballet. All of this was delightful happenstance, although props are owed to Lucas in Halifax.
After a dark Soviet bus ride on Sunday, I arrived in snowy Klaipeda, Lithuania. It's 4:20 p.m. here and the sun is already setting. To celebrate, Jared and I are in his office at Lithuania Christian College eating exceptionally good cheese. The weather here is very Canadian. So although I will be in steamy Dhaka in a month, I am stomping through slush in solidarity with those of you in large Canadian cities. I tip my fleecy hat to you all.
posted by Unknown at 08:18
4 Comments:
Ali, why are there no pictures of YOU in any of these places?
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Salut Ali! Comment ca va?
I was really happy to receive your email with the blog link, and really excited to share your travels! In the spirit of not being a lurking blog reader, I'm actually going to post a little update for you. I just came back from Mexico - just 3 weeks, but some pretty whirlwind travels. I visited my international exchange student friends, first going to the beach on the Pacific coast, then to the Central highlands north of Mexico City, then a very long bus ride to my final stop in San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas. All of the places were very different and interesting, my two absolute favorites were going to a monarch butterfly reserve in Michoacan and exploring indigenous villages and the Zapatista movement in the south.
Hope you're having an awesome time in Lithuania. So close to my homeland. Enjoy the Russian and Lithuanian hospitality and be careful with the salted fish. Looking forward to reading about your epic adventures.
Ton amie de Chicoutimi
Hi Jan and Robyn--see if you can pick me out in the next batch of photos. Here's a clue: I look as if I might commit a crime.
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